The usually bubbly Filipino comedian K Brosas took time to post a video about a more serious topic: anxiety disorder.
The topic first came up during a segment of Tawag ng Tanghalan (Call of the Stage), a singing contest on ABS-CBN noontime show It’s Showtime, last Oct. 30 when one of the contestants was having a panic attack after her performance.
“Almost 12 years ago, over a decade, I frequented emergency rooms,” she said in Filipino.
According to the United States’ National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), anxiety disorder is “more than temporary worry or fear. For a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time.”
NIMH said anxiety disorder “interferes with daily activities such as job performance, school work, and relationships.”
Brosas shared that the challenge with her anxiety disorder was that it does not necessarily manifest in any physical symptoms.
“So, the doctor was bewildered, I’m already a regular [patient], but they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me?” Brosas shared.
“So the doctor gave me anti-anxiety meds — things to calm me down — or downers. And that’s when all my symptoms went away, the doctor told me, ‘I think you need to see a psychiatrist.'”
Brosas shared that she didn’t know that she had an anxiety disorder until she saw the psychiatrist. “We talked a lot, I cried so much with someone I didn’t even know,” she said.
Her advice for those who feel like they have an anxiety order is to “see a doctor. That’s very important.”
She added, “not an albularyo (witch doctor), ha? Not Dr. Jose Rizal (the Philippines’ national hero who was executed by the Spanish government in 1896).”
Mental health became a national issue last month after TV host Joey De Leon, on another noontime show Eat Bulaga, called depression “made up.”
If you or anyone you know suffers from depression or needs to speak to a mental health professional the Department of Health (DOH) with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Natasha Golbourn Foundation has a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline. The Hopeline may be reached at (02) 804-4637; 0917-5584673; and 2919 for Globe and TM subscribers.
